Reclining chair



Jilly 7, 1942.

J. D. BELL RECLINING CHAIR Filed May 21, 1941 2 Shets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR,

July 7, 1942, J. D. BELL I RECLINING CHAIR Filed May 21, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, I M PM Patented July 7, 1942 UNHT ED STATEE; iha'liihl'i" GFFICE RECLINING CHAIR Joseph D. Bell, San Francisco, Calif.

Application May 21, 1941, Serial No. 394,501

12 Claims The present invention relates to improvements in reclining chairs, and has particular reference to a chair constructed in such a manner that the angularity between the seat and the back of the chair may be readily adjusted by a chair occupant bythe mere shifting of his body weight.

A further object of my invention is to provide a chair of the character described which offers suflicient resistance to any change in its angularity to normallyretain, and to come to rest in any position to which it has been adjusted. A still further object of the invention is to provide a chair of the character described that is extremely simple and rugged in construction,

ings in the present application are exact duplicates of Figures 9 and 17 in the aforementioned application, Ser. No. 22,480, and were removed from the latter application for insertion in the present one.

The preferred forms of my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section through my reclining chair, in chair position;

Figure 2, a similar section showing the chair in an intermediate position; i

Figure 3, a similar section showing the chair in an extreme end position with the back and seat alined;

Figure 4, a fragmentary view of a modified form of bearing arrangement;

Figure 5, a longitudinal section of a modified form of my reclining chair;

Figure 6, a fragmentary view illustrating a track used in the latter form; and.

Figure 7, a longitudinal section through a further modified form of reclining chair.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, in detail, my reclining chair I includes, in its preferred form, a

main frame 2, a mattress frame 3, and means for supporting the latter frame on the former with freedom of change through a wide range of angularities. s

' The main frame 2 may be of any suitable type, and is here shown as comprising two side members 4 interconnected at the rear by the crossmembers 5, and at the front by the cross-memher 6. It may be suitably supported on legs 1 and forms substantially a square or rectangular box.

The mattressframe 3 comprises a rigid back section 8, a rigid seat section 9 and a hinge l0 connecting the two sections, the hinge being arranged in the upper plane of the frame so as to allow the latter to freely move between chairposition, in which the two sections form an L, and bed position, in which the two sections are horizontally alined.

The two sections are suitably covered by upholstery I l which extends uniformly from end to end of the entire mattress frame so as to form a continuous flat sleeping surface when the frame is in bed position. The inner construction of the upholstery is such that in chair position, it throws a fold over the hinge, as at E2, for accommodating excess material. 7 The supporting means for the mattress frame is arranged generally to allow an occupant to move the mattress frame to any desired angularity withoutleaving the chair, while at the same time enough resistance is offered to any change in angularity to allow the occupant to remainin any desired position of repose without conscious effort.

The supporting means is further arranged, in its preferred form, to provide a low seat, which takes a special cushion, as at I3, to bring it up to seat height, and to raise the seat to normal bed height when the chair is changed into a bed.

The outstanding feature of my invention, in its preferred form, is that the entire mattress frame slides on rails which are arranged in such a manner that they allow the frame to shift through a wide range of angularities and to stay in any position to which it has been adjusted.

For this purpose the mattress frame is provided with a plurality of laterally projecting trunnions l4, l5, and 16, arranged in'alined pairs which are adapted to slidably engage a similar plurality of tracks 11, I8, and I9 mounted on the inner faces of the side members 4 of the main frame.

The trunnions I 4 project from the back section intermediate its height, preferably somewhat below the center of the back section so that the latter is slightly overbalanced. The trunnions I5 project from one of the frame sections near the hinge, and the trunnions I6 project from the seat section substantially midway of its length.

The trunnions may be made simply in the form of dowels or knobs, as indicated at I4, which are preferably made rigid or non-rotatable so as to offer a certain amount of resistance to gliding movement on the track or rails. They are preferably made of material somewhat softer than that of the rails, so as to prevent the forming of grooves in the rails. For this purpose the trunnions may be made of relatively soft wood, while the rails are made of metal or hard wood.

To increase the friction between the trunnions and the rails, the trunnions may be provided with shoes or cleats 20 which are preferably made to oscillate on the trunnions and to have fiat railengaging surfaces, as in Figure 1, or which may be fixed, as in Figure 4, and in that case present a curved face to the tracks or rails.

The three rails or tracks are arranged as follows: The front rails I9 extend slantingly downward from the front of the main frame to approximately the center of the main frame, at a relatively small angle to the horizontal plane. The rear ends of these rails may be tapered, as at 2|, to present a somewhat steeper incline.

The rear rails project downwardly from the rear of the main frame, at an elevation somewhat higher than the front rails. In fact, the lower ends of the rear rails are approximately on a level with the upper ends of the front rails.

The incline of the rear rails is somewhat steeper than that of the front rails, and the rear rails terminate; at their lower ends, in stops 22. Similar stops 23' may be provided at their upper ends.

The front rails serve to support the trunnions I6 of the seat, and the rear rails to support the trunnions of the back. In chair position, the back trunnions I4 are disposed at the upper ends of the rear rails and the seat trunnions I6, or their shoes 20, are disposed on the lower ends of the front rails. As the back section is tilted backward, as by an occupant concentrating his weight on the upper end of the back, the seat trunnions are made to ascend the front rails while the back trunnions descend the rear rails.

To provide proper control for the mattress frame movements, and to prevent collapse of the latter, I use the central guide rails I8 which are engaged by the hinge trunnions I5 or their shoes. These guide rails are made in the form of slotted members supported on the inner faces of the side members 4, and extend from a point below the rear rails to a point above the front rails. The rear end of the slot is preferably horizontal, as at 23, while the major front portion rises at an angle through the space intermediate the front and rear rails.

The slotted members or guide rails I8 are preferably closed at both ends to present stops and their angularity may be adjusted through the fastening means shown at 24. The shoes 2!] are free to ride in the slots and may bear against the upper or the lower edge, depending upon weight distribution of the mattress frame and the occupants body. When in chair position, the shoes 20 rest in the lower ends of the guide rails, as in Figure 1, and during operation of the chair, they rise in the slots until they reach the upper ends of the slots when the chair is in bed position.

In operation, the chair movements may be easily controlled by body movements of an occupant. Beginning with the chair position of Figure 1, to change to bed position, or to any intermediate position, the occupant lifts the hip portion of his body and bears down upon the upper end of the back section of the mattress frame.

This causes the lower end of the back to tilt forward and to move the seat forward in an upward direction. It also causes the trunnion I5 or its shoe 2i), to travel forward and upward in its slot, while at the same time or slight later, the trunnion I4 begins to move downward on its track.

The resistance offered by the friction between the trunnions and the tracks is sufficient to allow the mattress to come to rest in any position desired, and to remain there until an effort is made to move it.

During this movement, the occupant bearing down on the upper end of the back and probably to some extent on the front of the seat, the central shoe tends to bear against the upper edge of the slot, as shown in Figure 2, while toward the end of the movement, it may bear on the lower edge, as shown in Figure 3, depending upon the weight distribution of the occupant.

To reverse the operation, the occupant concentrates his weight on the rear portion of the seat or directly over the trunnion I6, which causes this trunnion to travel downwardly on its track, while the trunnion I5 also travels downwardly in the slot and the trunnion I 4 travels upwardly on its track to the point of beginning.

The front rails may be mounted horizontally in case no raising of the front portion of the seat is desired.

Figures 5 and 6, which were removed from the copending application, as stated above, show a modified form of my reclining chair. 7

The front track I9 is substantially the same as in the first form and has the trunnion I6 riding thereon in the same manner. But the rear track and the intermediate guide track are omitted and the trunnions I4 are pivoted directly to the sides of the main frame.

In this form no central support is necessary for different chair positions, but is desirable for bed position. I, therefore provide a link 30 pivoted in the main frame, as at 3|, and adapted to be operated by a cord 32 for operation between the inactive full-line position, which it normally occupies, and the dotted-line position which it is made to occupy when the mattress frame is in bed position, to serve as a strut for supporting the hinge region.

In Figure 7 I show a modified form in which the rear and intermediate tracks I! and I8 are substantially the same as in the form shown in Figure l, and the rear trunnion I4 and the hinge trunnion I5 are arranged for cooperation therewith in substantially the same manner, but the mounting means for the seat is different, and comprises a shoe 35 suspended from the bottom of the seat and adapted to ride on the front board 6 of the main frame. The shoe is in the nature of a bracket having a substantially vertical rear wall 35 and an inclined front wall 3'! adapted to ride on the board for raising the seat on a forward movement and for lowering the same on a rearward movement.

The shoe is preferably provided with a projection 33 adapted to be moved forward of the front board 6 to offer a certain amount of increased resistance to movement of the seat from a position of substantial alinement with the back.

11 claim:

1. In a reclining chair, a main frame having on its sides a track slanting downward and inward from the rear and a track slanting downward and inward from the front, a back section, means for supporting the same at a point intermediate its height on the rear track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, a seat section, means for supporting the same at a point intermediate its length on the front track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, and a hinged connection between the back and the seat, the tracks being positioned and inclined to support the back and seat in chair position when disposed on the rear ends of the track, and in substantially horizontal alinement when disposed on the front ends of the track.

2. In a reclining chair, a main frame having on its sides a track slanting downward and inward from the rear and a track slanting downward and inward from the front, a back section, means for supporting the same at a point in termediate its height on the rear track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, a seat section, mean for supporting the same at a point intermediate its length on the front track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, and a hinged connection between the back and the seat, the front ends of the two tracks being on substantially the same level so as to support the back and the seat in substantially horizontal alinmene when resting thereon.

3. In a reclining chair, a main frame having on its sides a track slanting downward and inward from the rear and a track slanting downward and inward from the front, a back section, means for supporting the same at a point intermediate its height on the rear track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, a seat section, means for supporting the same at a point intermediate its length on the front track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, and a hinged connection between the back and the seat, the grades of the two tracks being substantially similar so as to cause the downward momentum of one of the sections on one of the tracks to be substantially balanced by the climbing effort of the other section on the other track.

4. In a reclining chair, a main frame having on its sides a track slanting downward and inward from the rear and a track slanting downward and inward from the front, a back section, means for supporting the same at a point intermediate its height on the rear track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, a seat section, means for supporting the same at a point intermediate its length on the front track with freedom of sliding and rocking movement, a hinged connection between the back and the seat, the tracks being positioned and inclined to support the back and seat in chair position when disposed on the rear ends of the tracks, and in horizontal alinement when disposed on the front ends of the tracks, and guide means for the hinged connection operable to control the movements of the two sections on their respective tracks.

5. In a reclining chair, a main frame, a mattress frame comprising a back section, a seat section and a hinged connection between the same, mean for supporting the mattress frame on the main frame in chair position, the said means comprising means for rockingly supporting an intermediate portion of the seat section with freedom of sliding movement in a forward and up"- ward direction, means'for rockingly supporting an intermediate portion of the back section with freedom of sliding movement in a forward and downward direction and means for rockingly supporting the hinge connection with freedom of sliding movement in a forward and upward direction whereby on a forward movement of the mattress the two sections are moved into horizontal alinement. 6. In a reclining chair, a main frame, a mattress frame comprisinga back section, a seat section and a hinged connection between the same, and means for supporting the mattress frame on the main frame in chair position comprising means for rockingly supporting an intermediate portion of the seat section with freedom of forward sliding movement, and means for rockingly supporting an intermediate portion of the back section and the hinged connection with freedom of forward sliding movement in inclined planes running at reverse angularities, the said means being operable to unfold the mattress frame as the same is moved forward.

7. Ina reclining chair, a main frame comprising side arms having a track on each extending from the front rearwardly and downwardly, a bearing support on the rear portion thereof and an elongated guide member intermediate the front and rear of the frame, two rigid sections hinged together, one a back and the other a seat, the latter having trunnions projecting from its sides substantially midway thereof for supporting it on the track for movement thereon, and the back having a leaning engagement upward from the hinge with the rear bearing support, the said back being operable to be rocked on the bearing support by rearward pressure by the occupant of the chair against the top thereof, and by this said operation to push the seat upwardly and forwardly on the said tracks and to substantially aline the two sections in a position of rest, with one end of each projecting over the outer margin of the frame, one of the said sections having trunnions projecting from its sides engaging with the said guide member to serve as a resistance against the said rocking movement. 8. In a reclining chair, a main frame including a side member, a mattress frame comprising a back section, a seat section and a hinged connection between the same, three bearing members projecting laterally from the latter frame, one from the back section intermediate the length thereof, one from the seat section intermediate the length thereof and one near the hinge connection, and three guideways on the main frame slidably supporting the three bearing members, the guideways for the first bearing member being on the rear portion of the side member and slanting downward from back to front, the guideway for the second bearing member being in the front portion of the side member and slanting upwardly from back to front, and the guideway for the third bearing member slanting upwardly from a point underneath the first guideway to a point above the second guideway.

9. In a reclining chair, a main frame having opposing side members and having pairs of tracks thereon, one pair slanting downward from the front, a second pair slanting downward from the back and a third pair intermediate the first two pairs and extending in an upward slanting direction from a point below the second pair to a point above the first pair, a foldable mattress comprising two sections having hinged connections, and means for supporting the mattress on the three tracks at points intermediate the lengths of the sections and at the hinged connection. T J

10. In a reclining chair, a main frameincluding a side member, a mattress frame comprising a back section, a seat section, and a hinged connection between the same, three bearing members projecting laterally from the latter frame, one from the back section intermediate the length thereof, one from the seat section intermediate the length thereof, and one near the hinged connection, and three guide ways on themain frame slidably supporting the three bearing members, the bearing members being operable on the guideways to move the mattress frame through various degrees of angularity and to retain the mattress frame in any angular position to which it has been moved the guideways being positioned to move the first bearing member in a downward direction and the other two bearing members in an upward direction when the mattress frame is advanced from a retracted position.

11. In a reclining chair, a main frame, a foldable mattress comprising a back section, a seat section and a hinged connection between the same, means for supporting the mattress on the fram in chair position comprising means for tiltably supporting the back section in the frame at a point intermediate its height and with freedom of forward and downward movement, means for supporting the seat on the frame at a point intermediate its length and with freedom of forward and upward movement, a track on the main frame extending from below the hinge forward and in an upward direction, and a trunnion projecting from the mattress near the hinge for guiding a central portion of the mattress in an upward direction as the mattress is moved forward.

12. In a reclining chair, a main frame having two trackways descending toward one another, a foldable mattress having a rear section and a front section and having two sets of trunnions projecting from the two sections respectively for riding on the two trackways with freedom of forward and rearward movement of the mattress accompanied by folding and unfolding movements thereof, and means operable On a central portion of the mattress for raising said portion during the unfolding movement.

' JOSEPH D. BELL. 

